And so we meet again
by Jenni-Marie-HP
Summary: eleven and the master, I'm bad at summaries, let me know if it should be more than just a one shot, non-romance, kay? Kay. Bye.
1. Chapter 1

At first, when he watched the man in the tweed jacket and bowtie run past, dragging along some redhead, he'd thought nothing of it. He was lying low, regenerating had saved him after the time lord's return. But the nature of his injuries, and the fact that he'd been dying in the first place, had made it a much slower, much more painful process. He hadn't even been able to get a good look at himself since then. Save for the fact that his hair was black again. Which made him rather happy, he hadn't much liked being blonde.

In addition to that, the drumming was no longer there. At first he thought it was just an effect of not being completely healed yet, but it never came back. He knew now that it was because the link between himself and Gallifrey had been broken, both when he died, and when the white point star had been destroyed. Since then, he'd wandered, trying not to attract attention, he didn't need the precious Doctor on his tail again. Begging him to travel with him.

No, didn't he understand? He could never be content with just _seeing _the universe. He had to have it….

Although since the drums had stopped, the need for that had lessened somewhat. He almost felt….Calm.

Several years later, he saw the bowtie man again. And this time, he could smell him, and he had run so close by that he had heart the four note beat of the man's hearts. His own eyes went wide, surely not. This man dressed like a schoolteacher, and wearing ridiculous round glasses….He remembered something from a long time ago. Back at the academy. The Doctor telling him why he'd shown up one day with glasses.

_"Theta, you don't _need_ glasses." Koschei said "Why wear them?"_

_"They look cool, and they make me look smart." His friend replied, straightening said glasses a bit. _

_"You're already smart you idiot-"_

_"That's contradictory-"_

_"Oh shut up, you know what I meant."_

_ Theta grinned, Koschei always got annoyed when a conversation didn't go the way he wanted. Or whenever Theta corrected something he'd said._

_"We're gonna be late, we get to go to the museum today. See the old TARDIS models."_

_"Boring." Koschei muttered "I just want my own so I can get off this planet."_

_"Oh come on! It'll be fun-"_

_"Can we let class get ahead of us, and sneak into one?" _

_ Theta rolled his eyes "They keep them locked you know."_

_"How should I know, your the one with the_ smart glasses_." _

Apparently, this bowtie man, who he was still refusing to refer to as the Doctor, at least until he knew for sure, had heard his own hearts, or perhaps smelled him. Or maybe he just stopped because he'd seen a man sitting on the ground against a lamp post.

"Hello." The bowtie man said brightly

He looked up at the overly smiley face and glanced over the features. If this was the Doctor, then he'd been killed by something…That was obvious. His hair was longer, and if possible, more ridiculous than the porcupine mess he'd had before. Rather large nose, prominent chin, sort of greyish-green eyes.

"Hello," He replied, not making any attempt to be friendly.

"I'm-" He knew what the bowtie man-…The _Doctor_ had been about to say. So he stopped him.

"I know, so lets just skip your introduction, shall we?"

The Doctor's face fell. Like he was remembering something bad.

"You died. I thought you were gone for good this time."

"Sorry Doc-tah," He muttered, knowing that particular pronunciation was annoying to his oldest friend. "Can't get rid of me."

The Doctor frowned slightly "Oh no, I knew that, but really, it's a little unnerving every time. Like when you were almost a ca-"

"I told you never speak of that again, or I will slowly kill whatever pour soul you've chosen to drag along and ruin the life of this time." He said sharply, standing up. "Now, I've had enough of this chatter, where's your TARDIS, get me off this horrible excuse for a planet."

"Master-"

"That's my name, I don't have the patience to argue with you, get me out of here before I set off some sort of bomb around your precious human race."

The Master would never admit it. But being back inside a TARDIS was amazing. He'd spent so long on the awful rock he'd been going insane. Actually insane this time and not just a result of the drums. He didn't want to stay, just get somewhere where he could get a ship of his own, and find some planet to blow up. He knew well enough to stay away from earth until he had a better plan in place.


	2. Chapter 2

"Who's this then?"

Great, the redhead again. The one he'd seen before. Sort of pretty, better than the last one anyway. But he didn't understand the Doctor's love of redheads. And his odd wish to be one himself.

"No one," The Doctor told her "Just, a, stranger, homeless, guy, followed me, what are you doing here homeless man?"

The Master sighed "If you're going to use the word homeless, you realize it also applies to you?"

"No it doesn't, I've got my home, right here, the TARDIS. You don't. So, you're homeless."

"Doctor-" The redhead started to talk again

"While he's being an idiot, I'm the Master. I'm going to assume your one of his pets?"

"Hey-"

"Sorry, _companions_. But really, pets, apes, companions, it's all the same."

She just looked a little confused "How, exactly do you know the Doctor?"

"None of your business ginger, I'm only here to get off this stupid rock."

"I'm not leaving you on your own, you'll, blow up a planet or something." The Doctor said, not really paying them much attention anymore. Flipping switches and pressing buttons at random.

"More than nine hundred years and you still can't fly this thing right." The Master muttered, leaving the redhead and following the Doctor's path, pressing other buttons and pulling levers until the Doctor stopped and pushed him away.

"Now your just being childish-"

"You're not flying my TARDIS, you _cannibalized_ her, so you leave her alone." His expression had gone very dark, so the Master stepped away. So he'd let him continue flying the ship wrong. Maybe he'd get to have some fun with it later.

"So, Amy, our trip is going to have to wait a while, as I do have to figure out what I'm doing with him."

"Amy, nice name, and your Scottish aren't you?"

"Yeah..." She stepped a little farther away from him and whispered something to the Doctor. Although she wasn't quite quiet enough for him to not hear.

"Doctor, who is this guy?"

"No one, for once, I agree with him, it's none of your business." The Master smirked, watching the exchange as the first at all interesting thing he'd seen in decades.

"Doctor!"

"Amy!" Rather funny, this new Doctor, much more...Hyper. He moved his arms a lot when he talked, and couldn't seem to stand still. And as interesting as it had been the first few minutes, the Master was getting bored, and decided to see exactly how long it would take to drive the Doctor insane.

At first it was just a manner of tapping against the dash of the TARDIS in a beat he now found comforting rather than maddening. He knew it was working from the annoyed looks he was getting every so often. But it quickly became more than that. After the tapping, he stood up and started following closely behind the Doctor wherever he moved. A few feet away at first, but getting closer and closer until he was practically breathing down the Doctor's neck. Finally:  
"Just stop!"

"I'm bored." The Master complained "Never would've taken this long in my TARDIS. You just had to steal some ancient discontinued-"

"Enough! I'm just, trying to find some place, where I can-..." He trailed off, and then, turning to Amy "I'm going to bring you home, I'll come get you after I've found somewhere safe for him."

"Doctor-"

"Amy, this is important, he's dangerous, I'll be back in, ten minutes, well, for you, well, I hope, that hasn't exactly worked out so well the last few times."

So Amy left. Not that she was happy about it, though she didn't end up shouting at all, which the Master would have quite liked to have seen.

"So, now that ginger is gone, where are we going?"

"Don't think I was lying to her."

"Never said you were. Although now that you've said something, maybe you did." The Master said, smirking. "Anyway, have you got a mirror? Haven't really had the chance to see myself, new face and all."

"What number is this exactly?"

"Let me think, no."

"What do you mean, _no_?"

"I mean, I have absolutely no idea. Sixteen, seventeen. Exactly how many times have I died? I can't remember. Everything gets more fuzzy the farther back I go."

The Doctor frowned "Well that makes no sense."

"Don't care, mirror?"

"Just use the monitor."

So he did. Like he'd noticed before, his hair was black again, and longer than it had been in quite a while. It needed cutting, but again, he hadn't exactly been living large, or had time for something as trivial as a haircut. His eyes were darker, sort of greenish-brown. And his face was cut sharper, less rounded than it had been. Much better than last time. And not blond. He really didn't like being blond. Or short, he had been quite short last time as well. He didn't like the Doctor, or many other people for that matter, being taller than he was.

"Need a haircut."

"Says the man who has girl hair." The Master muttered "Personally I'd take your cricket outfit over your current one. Why tweed? And the bowtie? You look like a fifty year old dressed you."

"The bowtie is cool. And there were limited options, it just sort of stuck. Your one to talk, exactly how long have you been wearing those clothes?"

The Master shrugged, he was still dressed in the hoodie and dark jeans. It wasn't like they hadn't been cleaned. He'd just been wearing them a while. And he was several inches taller now, making them rather small.

"Am I allowed to use the wardrobe?"

The Doctor hesitated "Nowhere else! If you aren't back here in five minutes I'm coming after you."

...

Chapter two

Enjoy

- JM


	3. Chapter 3

After about two minutes it became evident to the Master that the TARDIS was not going to allow him to find the wardrobe easily, or quickly. It led him in circles and backwards, and twice, he almost fell into a large pit he was sure he'd never seen in any other model. At one point, he passed a room full of mirrors, and in each one, the same girl was reflected, though she wasn't in the room at all. She had a rather sad expression, with one hand against the glass.

"Master!"

"Finally," The Master muttered "Your stupid ship has it out for me."

"And whose fault is that?" The Doctor asked "Yours."

"Is not. She's hated me since the beginning." The Master insisted. And he didn't understand the amused look the Doctor had. "What?"

"Nothing. The wardrobe is this way."

"I'll say it again, out of all this, you picked tweed?"

"I like it."

The Master sighed, when it came to clothing there was really no point arguing. It was better at least, than the clown suit he used to have. The Doctor had left him alone as soon as they'd gotten to the wardrobe. Every so often the room shuddered, making it clear that they were in flight again. Even though he wouldn't have known if the Doctor would turn on the stabilizers.

"Where are you taking me then. It's not like it matters. You'll never really get rid of me."

The Doctor looked up from the console, he had been watching one of the little blinking lights very intently. "Not trying to get rid of you. Never have been. And you would think you would realize that."

"So what, your just going to fly me around until I'm all sunshine and unicorns like you?" The Master asked "Not going to happen."

The Doctor was ignoring him now, eyes fixed back on the blinking green light. "When did they stop?"

A jolt close to that of an electric shock ran through the Master. Did he mean the drums? No, impossible, how would he know.

"What?" He asked, a little two sharply.

"When did the drumming stop? When you regenerated, or as soon as you made the decision to help me send Gallifrey back to the war?"

"How did you- Forget it. As soon as I made the decision. And I didn't do it for your benefit!"

"No, of course not. Can't have people thinking you did something nice can we." Even though his head was still down, the Master could see that the Doctor was smiling.

"Shut up, find some uninhabited planet, drop me there, and go running back to your ginger pet."

"No. And don't call her a pet. She's got a name."

"_Amy _then. Doesn't matter. How long do you think it'll take for you to ruin her life too?"

"Stop it-" The Doctor's smile had vanished, there was a note in his voice that suggested pain.

"Oh just admit it, you're as bad as me. You destroy people. You make them destroy themselves."

"I am not, like you, you are _insane _Koschei!"

"You're just touchy now aren't you. Lot more anger than you've had in a while." The Master grinned, enjoying this game, of how far he could go in terms of insulting the Doctor until he was finally angry enough to kick him out. Of course that would never happen. "And I'm not insane. I just like to win. Is that such an awful thing?"

"Winning isn't always good."

And of course he said that. Because he was the Doctor and the Doctor had had his own fair share of winning. Gallifrey being one of the worst victories he'd ever had to face. But all the Master knew was losing. The short victories he'd had, were the moments when he felt most content. When he knew he was in control.

"Maybe not for you. You spend too much time with humans to like winning. Everything is about your precious Earth and the human race. Do you ever stop to think that maybe they can get on by themselves?"

"I know they can. I'm just- Why am I telling you, why do you want to know?"

"You're just what?" The Master asked, not answering the Doctor's question "Lonely? You could be lonely surrounded by people. You've been that way forever."

"_Koschei?"_

_The older boy twitched in his sleep "Go to bed Theta..." He muttered, barely awake "Why are you in here?"_

"_I was lonely..."_

"_It's almost morning Theta...Go to bed."_

"_I'm not tired."_

_Koschei sat up in bed "Okay, fine you've done it, I'm awake, what do you want?"_

"_I told you, I was lonely."_

"_Lonely? You were _asleep."

"_I wasn't sleeping. I couldn't. I had this...Emptiness. It was cold, and it was lonely, I just wanted to see another person." There was a weight at the foot of the bed, Theta had sat down. Koschei made to turn on the lamp, but Theta stopped him_

"_No, don't, I like the dark in the morning."_

_Right. Theta Sigma. The kid who'd been afraid of the dark as long as Koschei had known him. Which, considering they were only seven, wasn't very long._

"_Fine. How do we fix your loneliness then?"_


	4. Chapter 4

"Why have you brought me here. I'm not one of your pets, I don't care what you want to show me."

"They aren't pets. And I wanted to show you something you'll enjoy." The Doctor looked unhappy. No, not unhappy, the Master realized. He looked like he was lost in memory.

"You can't _fix _me. I'm not going to magically turn into something you don't hate."

"I don't hate you Master." The Doctor said "And you _will _like this."

So the Master followed him out of the TARDIS. Onto a nondescript, but very familiar planet.

"Why have you brought me to Torreck? This planet hasn't been inhabited since before we left the academy."

"I came across this thing about century ago, well, this particular one, I've come across things like it before. But this one was different. And it was, amazing. Absolutely amazing. Like a window, a gap in time and space that went from Torreck to-"

The Master held a hand up, and the Doctor cut off. He was looking through a square, maybe the size of a mobile. And through it, he could see a forest. Not the dark, thin trees that surrounded them. But trees with silver leaves. So familiar that he swore for one second he could smell them, feel the warm breeze. That he was standing there, in _that _forest. Instead of this dark one on barren Torreck.

"Gallifrey..." The Master said softly.

"Not really. Just an image, far behind the days of the war. Someday it will catch up, disappear. But for now."

The Master didn't speak, he couldn't seem to tear his gaze away from that tiny window. From _home_. Home that he could never go back to. That no one could. It had been a long time since the Master had felt even slightly saddened by anything. But seeing Gallifrey, knowing he could never go back. Not even just for a second. It was hard to take. And underneath that sadness, anger started to boil. Because why couldn't he go back? The Doctor. The Doctor had destroyed it. Locked it away and made sure it could never escape. Well, that hadn't worked out so well. Davros, Khan, and he himself had gotten through that lock. Sure Davros had been destroyed...Again. Sure Khan had gone insane. And the Master's plan had turned against him when he realized Rassilon's true intentions. But it all went back to the Doctor.

"Just leave me here..." The Master said

"Master, you can't-"

"It's uninhabited, what could I possibly do, don't even have a ship."

"I-"

The Master spun to face the Doctor, tearing his eyes from Gallifrey with some difficulty.

"Did you not hear me? I said, leave. Me. Here. It's all your fault that Gallifrey burned in the first place. Now go before I decide I'd rather leave you here than stay!"

"I don't want to leave you-"

"I want you to go!" The Master snapped. Something about this place. Something strange. His anger felt wrong. Childish. As if the sight of home had made him a toddler throwing a tantrum. But he wanted the Doctor gone. So he could plan, so he could build a ship.

And he did get the Doctor to leave. Go back to the Scottish ginger woman. And it didn't take the Master very long to discover that Torreck, wasn't uninhabited at all.

… … … … … … … … …

Well that certainly didn't take long. Nice to know he hadn't lost that ability. Although, he really didn't think he would have. Most minds were simple things to bend and mold. The people of Torreck were no different. Spindly limbs and overlarge eyes. Of course, that might have come from living underground. They were incredible builders, that was evident. The city they had managed to construct. Just beneath the surface of Torreck. Well. It was incredible. The buildings were a mix of stone and pounded metal, built up to just below the ceiling of the caves.

And whatever they had, they willingly gave up. Because they were simple, and he asked.


End file.
